ARE NUMBERS IMPORTANT?

Numbers are important for knowing the health of bird populations. It's been proven in the 1900's age of near extinction of birds succombing to overhunting and environmental irregularities. Believing the populations were declining, because of all the things identified, was only a theory, until making changes to those things actually helped the populations (numbers) return. Not to their former glory, but to numbers which proved something was helping. Now more than ever we have the numbers which were not available a half century ago. Why do I say that? Only because the public access of the data from hundreds of locations, incredible hours of data, and crossing borders of nations, was not available in the bygone years as one unit of info. I have noticed that we cannot draw conclusions of the health of a certain bird, based soley upon our own Soddy Mtn. data. Purhaps from the data of Texas sites??? Certainly more so from the areas where the birds funnel through the Central Americas. But never one site. Because even in the Central Americas,it is necessary to take the data from both East and West counts to know how many birds are passing through. But even then, we have recently discovered that far more birds, including raptors make passage off shore than was ever suspected. So why bother? Because the combined effort of many sites does provide a fluctuating picture. There are exceptions, especially in birds whose primary habitat is the only place they might regularly be counted, or even apply. Kirkland's warblers for instance. But even then, if they are seen in migration in any odd location, those birds are significant. 1 or 2 of those, in only 15 various locations and times, are an encouragement that they are migrating along a broader front. Missing them on a traditional route alone would send up flags. Soooo- even when Soddy can't report numbers that may have been counted in a past year of boom, looking East or West of us may supply the missing birds. If not, are they showing up SW of us, or funneling past the Texas border? This year, there are reports of significant increases in some populations in other areas. Did they pass near us? Entirely possible!!! The weather being hot, dry and frought with blue blue skies, meant that thousands of birds could have passed directly over our site, so high as to not be seen. Frustratingly low numbers do NOT mean there were any fewer birds! Not at all. Bill should not fret for any reason other than, that he didn't get to see them. :( ____Sunday it rained all day. Much needed, and Bill deserved a rest as well. Monday it was still raining or socked in half of the day, but when it cleared, he did go up, and here's the report: Halloween Day , Monday Oct, 31 '22(click on the post to make it bigger)